[3 Ways] How to Sync Contacts from Gmail to iPhone 15/14/13/12

This guide will show you how to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone 14/13/12. Whether you want to import all or selected contacts, you will find a way to do it here.

By @Lena Last Updated September 5, 2024

On an Android phone, Google is the default account for saving data to the cloud. After you switch from Android to iPhone, can you add a Google account to your iPhone so you can access your files? Fortunately, the answer is YES!

Here in this guide, we will focus on how to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone. There are 3 solutions that can help you import contacts from Gmail to iPhone 14/13/12. You can read first and then choose the most suitable method according to your situation.

If you want to preview and select the contacts you need, please refer to Part 2 or Part 3.

Part 1. How to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone via Settings

Let’s first see how to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone via Settings app. It’s a good choice if you want to import all Gmail contacts to iPhone.

Sync Gmail contacts when setting up a new Gmail account

If you have not added your account, you can follow the steps below to add Gmail to iPhone and turn on contacts sync.

1. On your iPhone, open Settings app > Scroll down to find Contacts and tap it.

2. Choose Accounts > Tap Add Account > Choose Google > Follow the on-screen instructions to add your Gmail account.

3. Turn on Contacts or other apps > Tap Save to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone.

Sync Gmail contacts to an existing Gmail account on your iPhone

If you have already added the Gmail account, you can follow the steps below to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone.

Go to Settings app > Choose Contacts > Tap Accounts > Select the existing Gmail account > Turn on Contacts sync and that’s it.

★Tips:
When you turn on Contacts sync, it may ask you whether you want to delete the local contacts, just choose Keep on My iPhone. Otherwise, you may lose all the existing contacts.
When you turn on the sync, all Gmail contacts will be synced to iPhone. At the same time, the existing contacts on iPhone will be synced to Gmail. By the way, if you delete a contact from iPhone, it will be deleted from Gmail as well.
To ensure that newly added contacts will be synced to Gmail, you can go to Settings app > Tap Contacts > Tap Default Account > Choose Gmail to set it as the default account.
When you turn off contacts sync, it will delete all Gmail contacts from iPhone. If you don't want your contacts to be associated with Gmail, you can import your contacts using the other two methods below.

 

How to check contacts synced from Gmail

It won't tell you if the sync is complete, you can go to the Contacts app to see the contacts synced from Gmail.

  • Go to Contacts App.
  • It will list all your contacts. (In earlier iOS versions, you need to tap Groups.)
  • You can tap Gmail to view contacts synced from your Gmail account.

Part 2. How to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone via iCloud

How to import contacts from Gmail to iPhone if you do not want to add Gmail account to iPhone? Maybe you want to ditch Google Drive in favor of iCloud, in which case you can choose to sync your contacts to iCloud. It is able to help you transfer all or selected Gmail contacts.

Step 1. Download Gmail contacts to computer

1. Open a browse and search Google Contacts > Click Google Contacts and log in to your account.

2. Choose the contacts you need > Click the three-dots icon > Select Export.

3. Choose vCard (for iOS Contacts) > Click Export and it will download the contacts you selected to your computer.

Step 2. Upload contacts to iCloud

1. Open a browser and go to iCloud.com > Enter your Apple ID and passcode to sign in to your account.

2. Choose Contacts > Click Settings icon > Select Import vCard...

3. Chose the vCard file you exported before.

Step 3. Sync contacts to iPhone

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings app.

2. Tap your name > Choose iCloud.

3. Turn on Contacts > Tap Merge if you want to keep the local contacts.

★Tips:
When your iPhone is connected Wi-Fi, it will automatically download contacts from iCloud. At the same time, the existing contacts on iPhone will be synced to iCloud. If there are a lot of contacts that need to be synced, then you may need to be patient.
You can turn off Contacts sync if needed. Choose Keep on My iPhone and the previously synced contacts will be saved on your device.

How to check contacts synced from iCloud

You can open Contacts app to check all your contacts. For the contacts synced from iCloud, you can tap All iCloud option to view them.

Part 3. How to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone via AOMEI FoneBackup

Usually, you can take advantage of Gmail or iCloud to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone. However, what if you neither want to add a Gmail account nor use iCloud? Don’t worry, there is still a solution, you can rely on a third-party transfer tool to help you import contacts from Gmail to iPhone.

Here we tale AOMEI FoneBackup as an example to show you how to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone. AOMEI FoneBackup is one professional iPhone data management tool for Windows users. It is able to export vCard or CSV contacts to iPhone. What’s more, it will not erase any existing data on iPhone.

You can click the download button to get AOMEI FoneBackup and follow the steps below to sync Gmail contacts to iPhone.

Download Freeware Win 11/10/8.1/8/7
Secure Download

1. Go to Google Contacts on computer to export Gmail contacts. You can refer to Step 1 in Part 2 to get the detailed steps.

2. Launch AOMEI FoneBackup > Connect your iPhone to computer via the USB cable > Enter passcode on iPhone to let PC access your device.

3. After AOMEI FoneBackup recognizes your device, choose Phone Transfer > Go to PC to iPhone and click Get Started.

4. Choose Contacts > Click anywhere in the box to select the vCard file (or you can drag and drop the file to the box).

5. Finally, click Start Transfer.

★Tips:
When the transfer is complete, you can go to Contacts app to check your contacts.
If all your contacts are saved in your previous Android phone, you can choose to transfer contacts from Android to iPhone directly. First export contacts from Android to computer and then import contacts to iPhone via AOMEI FoneBackup.
AOMEI FoneBackup also supports transferring photos, videos and videos. It can be a good helper if you want to transfer data from Android to iPhone after setup.

Part 4. What to do if Gmail contacts not syncing to iPhone?

All the 3 methods mentioned above can help you sync Gmail contacts to iPhone. However, some unknown errors may cause the sync to not work smoothly. Why is Gmail contacts not syncing to iPhone? Well, probably your Google account is not securely connected to your iOS device.

When you find Gmail contacts syncing to iPhone, you can go to Settings to check whether you have enabled Use SSL. When this option is disabled, your Gmail contacts won’t be able to sync to your iPhone.

1. Go to Settings > Contacts > Accounts > Choose your Gmaill account.

2. Tap Account > Choose Advanced > Turn on Use SSL.

3. Go back to the Account page and tap Done.

If it does not work, you can delete the account and try adding your account again.

Final words

That’s all about how to sync contacts from Gmail to iPhone 14/13/12. Usually, you can add Gmail account via Settings and turn on Contacts to sync all contacts to iPhone. If you have a computer at hand, you can rely on iCloud or AOMEI FoneBackup to import selected contacts. When WiFi is slow, AOMEI FoneBackup is a better choice.